3. Also, if you are interested in taking the Sunday April 10thASL tour of the Canadian Human Rights Museum, please register for it too! There is a minimum of 20 people to get this special tour! Time(s) TBA

If you have registered already, we are looking forward to seeing you in April!

FREE EVENTS: ASL/English interpretation available - donations are appreciated - all welcome, both Deaf and Hearing!

Winnipeg will need more sign-language interpreters this fall when a new video-relay service launches for deaf Canadians.

Right now, about four or five interpreters per year are graduating from the only sign-language interpretation program in the province.

"I definitely would like to see more graduates from our program," said Rick Zimmer.

Zimmer, who is deaf, co-ordinates the American Sign Language-English interpretation program at Red River College.

"Having that connection with the non-deaf world to the deaf world [is important] … for so many years, they've been two separate entities," he said.

The city is already home to a video-relay centre, where sign-language interpreters take video calls to translate back and forth between American Sign Language and English.

Right now, the centre is only serving U.S. callers, but this fall, CRTC plans to launch a video-relay service in Canada, with registration starting this summer.

"We will need many more student graduates, so we do need more of a push," said Zimmer.

English, ASL very different languages

The learning curve is huge for students – many come into the four-year program without being fluent in ASL and having little familiarity with deaf culture.

"Because we're second language users who learn language so late in life, it's an additional challenge. Most Spanish, most French interpreters grew up using the language," said Mandy MacDonald, who has been an instructor with the program for eight years. "I think there's a lot of assumptions that people make, [for example] all deaf people can lip-read, deaf people want to be not deaf … we realize quickly those are stereotypes."

English and ASL are very different languages – sentence structure and tense are communicated differently and articles like "a" "the" and the verb to "be" are used differently.

Much of the "grammar" in ASL is tied to facial expression and the speed of a gesture, and students have to be prepared to interpret everything from couples' counselling to negotiating a house purchase to a coach teaching kids how to play soccer.

Rick Zimmer leads a class in deaf poetry at Red River College. Zimmer, who is deaf, is the program co-ordinator for the American Sign Language-English Interpretation program at RRC. (CBC)

Because of the room for error, a large part of the training is teaching students to take themselves and their emotions out of the interaction.

"I think it's important for students to understand they need to leave their stuff at the door so that when they come in, they're able to tell someone that, they have cancer or their baby is growing inside of them but when they come out they're not going to survive -- you know, really, really hard stuff," said MacDonald. "We have to have our own stuff in check before we can facilitate any interaction like that."

Another distinct aspect of the training program is accurately representing the voice of a deaf or hard of hearing person based on their age, gender and where they happen to be at the time.

"We talk about, 'What do you imagine them to sound like? What does a 55-year-old man sound like?' Would he say, 'Oh my gosh! I really like that! Thank you!'? Is that how your dad would talk? No? What are the words he would typically use?" said MacDonald, adding they do a lot of studying around what people of different generations sound like and how people augment their speech based on the venue they are in. "There's certain words [people will] use with their boss that they would not typically use on the floor of a shop, versus their wife, versus their mother."

Men rarely enrol, staff say

One thing the program is lacking? Men.

Right now, the program has exclusively female students, and they rarely see men come through the program.

That means when a man who is deaf or hard of hearing wants to work with an interpreter, there are a lot fewer options.

Mandy MacDonald has been an instructor with the program for eight years. (CBC)

"Signing and speaking are very gender-based," MacDonald said. "When [students] are actually out in the field interpreting, then they get live feedback. We call it, 'It sounds too much like you intruding on the message.' So if … I say 'like' a lot and it starts to come out in the message, that's me having an impact on the message."

The program started in 1978 as a small, short program at RRC. It then expanded to two years, and now it's a four-year joint-program with the University of Manitoba.

The program employs a mix of deaf and non-deaf instructors, and in some cases, like MacDonald's cross-culture class, deaf and non-deaf instructors co-teach.

MacDonald said initially, students only got involved because they had a friend or family member who was deaf, but that's changing.

Woman moves from Winkler into deaf centre

Student Sarah Klassen was working as an educational assistant at a Winkler elementary school when a deaf student moved to the area and needed an interpreter.

The school couldn't convince a trained sign-language interpreter to move out to the community, so they asked Klassen if she would be willing to learn.

"I fell in love with the deaf community and the language," she said.

After being hired by the division as a "signer," she decided that wasn't good enough.

"I knew for me to be an ally with the community, I knew I would have to become a trained interpreter," she said. "I didn't realize how much self-reflection there would be, and how we need to just really analyze our beliefs and our biases. I guess I thought it was just interpreting. I didn't realize how my personal baggage can affect my job."

Sarah Klassen, 32, is in her third year of studies in the program. She moved from Winkler to Winnipeg to live in an apartment at the Deaf Centre Manitoba. (CBC)

The 32 year old moved from Winkler into an apartment at the Deaf Centre Manitoba on Pembina Highway.

But it's already difficult, she said, to navigate the world of socializing and making friends who are deaf and maintaining a professional distance.

"I've been trying to figure out, how would I interpret for them? Or could I even? Would I influence the interpretation because of our friendship?" she said.

Zimmer says friendships in the community are important, and generally interpreters should avoid interpreting for friends and family.

"I always encourage our students to get involved in the deaf community. It's key," he said. "You can definitely have close friends in the deaf community, but you'll always be viewed as a professional."

MacDonald hopes more students enrol in the program, especially based on the need for more interpreters.

"Eighteen years later I still love it. I still get nervous, I still get excited. There is vicarious trauma that happens, but there's also vicarious excitement that happens," she said. "The deaf community is so welcoming, so gracious. The deaf community has lots of space for us."

Winnipeg will soon be one of the first cities in Canada to have specialized housing designed for people who are both deaf and blind.

Bonnie Heath, executive director of the Resource Centre for Manitobans who are Deaf-Blind, has put down payments on 10 suites in the residential portion of the new Gas Station Arts Centre, which is slated for the corner of River Avenue and Osborne Street.

"We're very excited," Heath said, adding that the need for this kind of housing is great.

"The deaf-blind individuals that I'm in contact with in their own homes right now feel isolated and unsafe."

'I'm just hoping it won't take too long.'- Gayle Northcott

She added, "You have a combination of you can't see and you can't hear; you don't know who's coming into your place. You don't know, for example, one of my deaf-blind friends said she wouldn't even know the toilet was running over until the water was at her ankles in the dining room."

Heath works with dozens of Manitobans who are deaf-blind — people with a combination of no vision or low vision and hearing that rely on interpreters to communicate.

The apartments will not only bring members of the deaf-blind community under one roof, the apartments will be designed with them and for them for safer and easier living, said Heath.

"Sharp edges, you know, things that we take for granted when we can see, getting around corners — those types of things will be avoided."

Forks architect will design tactile-focused environment

Winnipeg-based architect Steve Cohlmeyer, whose resume includes The Forks, will tackle the project, which he acknowledges will be a first for him.

"At the level of problem-solving, I think it's really exciting — and exciting because there's a whole service aspect and a kind of integration of a whole group I was unaware of when I first got the call," he said.

Cohlmeyer is considering is a tactile approach to design — for example, surfaces that will distinguish between rooms.

"For people who have no sight and zero hearing, we'll certainly want to explore the kinds of things you can help feel your way through a space," he said, adding that for people with partial sight, high-contrast spaces may be important.

Bonnie Heath, left, interprets for Gayle Northcott, right, in Northcott's current home in Winnipeg. (CBC)

"Exaggerated colour difference or dark and light contrast will be a helpful thing to have," he said. "So you can see where a door cabinet is against a light floor as opposed to all-white cabinets and all-white floors."

In the coming months, Cohlmeyer will visit deaf-blind clients to "watch how they live" to source his design solutions. He said he is also travelling to Toronto and the United States to visit existing deaf-blind housing to learn what works well and what doesn't.

"Even when you're well-acquainted with an environment you can still bump into things, so we want to be watching and learning as much as we can about how we facilitate movement and operation of equipment within the unit itself and how they can move again between the unit and even elevators and an outdoor terrace."

Money raised via RAW:almond

​The down payments for the suites come largely from three years' worth of donations collected by RAW:almond, Winnipeg's pop-up river restaurant.

Chef Mandel Hitzer collects donations at the restaurant each year and even slept on the ice for 21 nights to raise money for charity.

He said the city has been so supportive of his restaurant, he wanted to give back. He chose Heath's project because it's close to his heart.

"I am the youngest of five. Two of my brothers are disabled: one of my brothers has autism and one is legally blind and going blind," he said, adding that while his brothers live in Calgary, he wanted to help here.

"I decided, you know, we're Winnipeggers. I want to help Winnipeggers."

Gayle Northcott can't thank Hitzer enough. The 72-year-old has been deaf and blind for most of her life and looks forward to day she will be able to move into her new home.

She has already drawn up what she'd like in her suite, namely wide hallways and bright specialized lighting that will aid her low vision.

"I'm just hoping it won't take too long!" she said.

The housing project will be paid for by the clients — some units will have rental rates geared to income, affordable housing and market price suites.

Shovels could be in the ground before the end of this year, Heath said.

This story is part of Access Denied, a CBC Manitoba series exploring accessibility for people with disabilities in Winnipeg.

Playback
Theatre is improvisational theatre that starts with listening deeply to
people's stories and then transforming them spontaneously into theatre.

It
is especially powerful in honoring the voices of people from marginalized
communities and in helping to build understanding across differences. It is
hoped that playback theatre could be a tool to both build community within ADNM
and to educate the public.

If I don't answer it means that I am not at work and my IPad is not with
me or I'm with clients; I will call you back if I see that you have called or
you can send me an email at chanin.nickerson@flightcentre.ca
to set up an appointment.

We are also excited to inform you all that we have an Instagram
Account set up and would love for all of you to follow us!

Our goal over the next quarter is to slowly add more content and
information which will be helpful to the Deaf Community and we will also be
including vlogs (video blogs) so that you don't have to read a script to hear
about the latest deals and/or sales! Everything will be in sign!!

Deafinitely Travel is the name of our Instagram
Account.

We will eventually link this with a Facebook Page and Twitter Account
but we thought it would be best to do this all in stages…watch out for changes
over the next 6 months or so! :)

Finally, as all of you know, the DeafNation Expo is coming up on July
5th to July 8th in Las Vegas.

If any of you are interested in attending, we will be promoting some
package deals (Flights/Accommodations/Airport Transfers/Excursions) within the
next few weeks.

Pop me over an email or Facetime me if you want exclusive pricing for
this upcoming Expo!

We are so happy to finally see that our hard work and efforts are paying
off by being able to offer all of our important Deaf Customers a way to easily
book any travel adventures throughout the world! We would love to hear from you
if you have any feedback for us or suggestions for upcoming holiday packages
with interpreters; send us an email any time at chanin.nickerson@flightcentre.ca

Pass this email along to any of your friends, colleagues or
aquaintences - we would love to spread the word! :)

We care about delivering amazing travel experiences. Flight Centre offers the
widest range of airfares as well as exclusive Captain's Red Label Fares and
myTime products that can't be found anywhere else. We are here for our
customers anytime, anyplace, 24/7 and we do the work for you. We're also proud
to offer our customers our Lowest Airfare Guarantee. For amazing travel
dealsclick here

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There is no
better compliment to me than a referral to your friends and family.

Weekly Task
for February 22

It only takes a few minutes...

Are you registered to vote? If an enumerator did not come to your house
to register you to vote, please call Elections Manitoba:1‐866-628-6837 or email election@elections.mb.ca.
They will give you more information to help you get on the voters’
list. This
needs to be done before April 7.

If you need assistance, ask a friend for help (and make sure your friend
is registered too!)

You're one step closer to voting in the Manitoba Provincial Election on
April 19.

Thanks for your support!

Please Share

Please share
this email – the more participation the better. Email this link to all of
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to be heard. Thank you!

Get ready to
vote:
We created an enumeration document to help everyone understand the
enumeration process and how to ensure that every person that wants to
vote is on the voter's list. You can look at the document here and other
how to vote information here: http://www.disabilitymatters2016.ca/how-to-vote

Participate in
the campaign:
We developed an Election Tool Kit to help you get involved in the
campaign and ensure that your voice is heard! There are many very easy
ways to become involved, from following the campaign and participating on
social media, asking questions of the candidates that come to your door
or ordering a sign for your lawn. Please help in any way you can, you can
start by downloading the toolkit here: http://www.disabilitymatters2016.ca/priority-issues

Met with
candidates:
Since meeting with the candidates from each party, we've now sent them
the five key priorities and asked them to respond in writing to our
questions. As we receive these responses, we will post them on the
DMV2016 website to help you make your voting decision.

Constituency
captains:
We've met with volunteers captains for the 16 key swing constituencies
and some of the volunteers working on those teams. All captains have an
action plan and are ready to accept volunteers. If you're interested in
volunteering, please sign up here: http://www.disabilitymatters2016.ca/get-involved/contact-us

Thank you:
We've heard from politicians, media and disability partners in the field
that people are taking notice of this campaign. Thank you for being a
part of history.

Please Share

Please share
this email – the more participation the better. Email this link to all of
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to be heard. Thank you!

D.E.A.F. is now
accepting applications for Residential Treatment Workers full time positions to
support Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and youth in the care of Child and
Family Services and adults with intellectual disabilities or mental health
issues.

We thank all
applicants for their interest in New Directions however only those selected for
an interview will be contacted. Preference will be given to Deaf and Hard
of Hearing applicants that meet qualifications. Unfortunately we cannot accept
telephone inquiries.

New Directions strives towards a workforce that has
fair representation of Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible
minorities, and women.